Raia in Salcete was the first village to celebrate the harvest. Agasaim followed, Malar on the island or Divar has done it, and so has Taleigao. The first paddy sheaves of the season are being cut in an elaborate process, blessed and taken home. The question, however, arises is whether the harvest festivities in Goa are turning to be more of a ceremonial ritual than a meaningful and relevant festival that celebrates the new crop. Despite the government periodically releasing figures that agriculture production is increasing, there is little evidence of this in the fields that are increasing remaining fallow and, when they are not sprouting concrete blocks, are growing weeds rather than paddy.
The government’s efforts to increase the amount of land under cultivation and consequently raise production, may show results on paper. In the recently concluded Assembly session the Agriculture Minister had stated that almost 80 percent of the paddy cultivation in the State has been mechanized and there has been an increase of 50 percent in production as compared to the previous two years. He had told the House that there has been an overall increase of 40 percent in agricultural production in the State. But the Economic Survey 2014-15 released by the government does not bear out any increased land under paddy cultivation.
Taking into consideration just paddy, which is Goa’s biggest agricultural crop, according to the Economic Survey 2014-15 the area under paddy cultivation in 2011-12 was 47, 237 hectares that came down to 45,830 hectares in 2012-13 and further fell to 42,870 hectares in 2013-14. While the area under cultivation has been showing a falling trend, the produce has been showing a marginal increase. From 1,82,945 tonnes in 2011-12 it rose to 1,84,282 tonnes the following year and to 1,89,760 tonnes in 2013-14.
The trend is similar in cultivation of pulses, groundnuts and sugarcane but show an opposite trend in the case of vegetable cultivation and cashew plantation.
In the case of vegetable production the land under cultivation was 6948 hectares in 2011-12 producing 78,201 tonnes, that increased to 6645 in 2012-13 giving a yield of 80,511 tonnes and rising to 7004 hectares in 2013-14 with a yield of 79,900 tonnes. Goa, that depends on vegetable imports from Karnataka and Maharahstra on a daily basis, has one crop in surplus production and actually exports chilies to Belgaum. It also exports flowers and roses to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Given this background the question is whether agriculture and its allied activities have any future in Goa?
The trend of diminishing area under paddy cultivation is not of the last few years. It is now well over a decade since agriculture and the area under cultivation has been falling. If one goes further back, then the area under paddy cultivation in 2003-04 was 52,801 hectares and had fallen to 49,960 hectares. Efforts by the government to boost agriculture are not showing results, they are in fact being ignored by the people. The increase in production is more due to high yield varieties of seeds that are being sowed on smaller parcels of land, than more land being brought under cultivation.
While development has changed the face of Goa, there are some of the traditional customs that do not die and the harvest feast is one of them. Yet, there may well come a day in the future when the harvest festival in the villages would have to be celebrated without any paddy sheaves to be cut. It is therefore of absolute importance that the Regional Plan 2021 is finalised with utmost urgency so that land which is set aside for agriculture is not converted for other purposes.
